Irrigation system kit buyer's main country

When they talk aboutirrigation system kit, many people immediately think about the price or standard assembly - and this is the main mistake. In fact, the key point is to understand in which country the system will work: the soil in the Krasnodar Territory and Kazakhstan differs in the same way as the automation requirements of a small farmer and an agricultural holding.

Why ?main country of buyer? solves more than technical specifications

We at Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC have more than once encountered a situation where a client sends a list of equipment, but during a detailed conversation it turns out that he did not take into account local standards for water use or the seasonality of precipitation. For example, in Uzbekistan, it is critical to take into account the high mineralization of water - without multi-stage filtration, drip lines will fail within a season.

One of our projects for farmers in the Rostov region showed that even high-quality controllers can “freeze?” at -30°C, if you do not include winter mode in the firmware. I had to reassemble the control cabinets and add heating - a small thing, but without field experience you can’t foresee it.

Now we always ask the client not only for field parameters, but also for typical weather anomalies in the region. Strong winds in steppe zones, for example, require a different calculation of the spacing of supports for sprinklers.

Case analysis: why ready-made kits don’t always work

In 2022, a cooperative from the Stavropol region contacted us - they purchased a “universal” from another supplier. kit, but were faced with excessive water consumption by 40%. During the analysis, it was discovered that the pumping group was designed for sandy soils, but they had heavy loam. The water did not have time to be absorbed and flowed into the lowlands.

We had to rebuild the system: add soil moisture sensors and a pulse irrigation module. This increased the cost by 15%, but after two seasons the savings on water paid for the improvement. Conclusion: there are no universal solutions, only selection for a specific soil and crop.

By the way, we use our website https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru not as a catalog, but as a platform for collecting primary data - there is a form with expanded fields “soil type?” and ?source of water?. This cuts out 80% of irrelevant queries.

How to avoid mistakes when picking

Never skimp on filters - even if the water is from an artesian well. Last year we installed a system in Tatarstan, where the client insisted on a simple mesh filter. After three months, sand damaged the solenoid valves - repairs were more expensive than a multi-layer backwash filter.

Always test your water for hardness before selecting nozzles. Due to carbonate deposits, we somehow lost a whole season on pepper - we had to urgently change the emitters to self-cleaning ones.

Selection of equipment: what really matters

For small farms (up to 5 hectares), ready-made kits with timer controllers are often offered - but in reality, farmers forget to reconfigure them for the phases of crop growth. We switched to simple weather stations with irrigation correction based on evaporation - although they are 20% more expensive, but water savings reach 35%.

When completing the configuration, we use a modular principle: a basic set (pipes, fittings, pump) + optional units (automation, filtration, sensors). This allows the client to start with a minimum budget and purchase additional functionality as they grow.

Our production in China allows us to quickly adapt components - for example, increase the wall thickness of pipes for regions with frost heaving of the soil. But assembly and configuration are always carried out locally by engineers from the customer’s country.

Why ?smart farming? - not just marketing

In a project for a vegetable farm near Voronezh, we introduced not just drip irrigation, but a system with differentiated watering by field zones. Data from drones and humidity sensors was integrated into the platform - now watering is started only in areas with a drop in pressure in the droppers. Result: 18% less water, +12% increase in yield.

But it is important not to overload the system: for grain crops, simple timer automation is often enough - additional sensors will not pay for themselves.

What unobvious problems do buyers face?

Customs clearance - many do not take into account that equipment with pressure sensors may require separate certification in the EAEU. We are preparing a package of documents in advance, but in 2021 the batch was stuck at the border due to incorrectly issued certificates for solenoid valves.

Local support is critical. They installed the system in Crimea, and six months later the frequency converter failed. Our engineer from Krasnodar was able to arrive only a week later - the client lost part of the harvest. Now we are creating a network of service partners in key regions.

Climatic features: in Primorye, due to high humidity, standard soil moisture sensors showed an error of up to 25%. I had to switch to tensiometers - more expensive, but accurate in conditions of constant fog.

How we changed the approach to creating kits

Previously, systems were compiled based on technical parameters - pump performance, line length. Now we start with an agronomic analysis: crop, planting pattern, depth of the root system. For vineyards, for example, we use subsurface drip irrigation - it reduces evaporation, but requires special installation tools.

We added agronomist-consultants to the staff - they help the technical department adjust irrigation plans for the growing season. This is especially important for greenhouses, where an error in the duration of watering leads to fungal diseases.

We publish all cases and calculations on https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru in the section “Implemented projects?” - not as an advertisement, but as a practical guide for new clients. Farmers often come with a ready-made solution “I want it like my neighbor’s?”, but after studying examples they understand the need to adapt to their conditions.

What is the priority when selecting components?

Pumps - only with a power reserve of 15-20%. Cheap Chinese analogues fail after 1-2 seasons of intensive work. We work with trusted manufacturers, although this increases the price of the kit by 7-10%.

Pipes - for above-ground installation we use only PE with UV stabilization. There was a sad experience with PVC pipes in the Astrakhan region - after a year in the sun they cracked at the joints.

Prospects: where the irrigation systems market is heading

The demand for remote control is growing even among small farms - after the pandemic, farmers want to control watering from a smartphone. But there are few ready-made solutions: most foreign platforms are not adapted to Russian cellular networks in rural areas.

We are developing a hybrid system - basic control via SMS (where there is no stable Internet) + extended functionality via a mobile application in areas with LTE.

Another trend is integration with weather forecasts. Last year we tested a system with automatic skipping of watering on rainy days - it worked well, but we had to modify the algorithm to take into account the wind (light rain with strong winds does not moisten the soil).

The main thing is not to chase after the “smart” ones. functions, but to ensure reliability. A simple but trouble-free system is always better than a technologically advanced but capricious one. This is our basic principle when packaging eachirrigation system kit.